Simulation Model to Control Risk Levels on Process Equipment Through Metrology in Semiconductor Manufacturing

The strategies of semiconductor manufacturing companies to improve their performance are based on performance measures such as yield, throughput and cycle time. To reach these objectives, control plans are used to supervise the behavior of process tools. Due to the complexity of this industry, a permanent review to check the effectiveness of control steps is necessary. To manufacture an integrated circuit, wafers pass through numerous process steps such as Photolitography, Etching, Chemical deposition and so on. This paper is focused on a particular step of semiconductor manufacturing: The Ion Implant workcenter. The aim is to analyze the behavior of its process tools and the risk levels through a simulation model, and to propose and validate approaches to reduce the risk.